Sources: Summarizing
When you summarize information, you explain the most important parts of a source text in your own words. You typically summarize something to make it shorter. The page number is not required in the in-text citation for a summary.
An effective summary—
- explains the most important parts of the original.
- is written in your own words.
- keeps the original meaning.
- does not merely “cut” and “copy” from the original.
- is shorter than the original.
Below is an excerpt from a website article that describes genetically modified (GM) food. This example will be used on the next several pages to illustrate how to write a summary.
Original Source
“GM crops are engineered for tolerance to synthetic pesticides and herbicides and for resistance to organic threats. They are developed for faster growth rates, to withstand environmental stressors, and for increased productivity. GM foods are also designed to produce consistently tastier products.”
Genetically Modified Food. (2021). In Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection.
Example Summary
Scientists created GM crops in order to provide more food in less space, to improve the taste of the crops, and to protect them from damage by environmental conditions, insects, and other plants (Genetically Modified Food, 2021).
Here are some simple steps you can follow in order to create a summary:
- Determine your purpose.
- Read or listen to what you will summarize.
- Make a list of the main points.
- Write the summary.
- Compare the summary to the original.
Determine your purpose
The purpose of your summary will help you determine which details you should include. Compare the example summaries below. The first summary focuses on the reason for prohibiting GM foods in many countries. The second summary focuses on the disagreement between different groups on this topic. While both include only information found in the orginal source, the two summaries signal different points of view on the topic.
Example Source
“Scientists and regulatory bodies agree that human consumption of GM foods is safe. But widespread consumption of GM foods has occurred for less than twenty years. Therefore, concern exists that unintended health hazards have yet to be determined. Activist campaigns have led thirty-eight countries to prohibit the cultivation of GM crops.”
Genetically Modified Food. (2021). In Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection.
Example: Student Summary 1
The young history of GM modified foods doesn’t allow us to properly understand the consequences on human health which leads to postponing its use in different countries (Genetically Modified Food, 2021).
Example: Student Summary 2
Although there are anti-GM activists that claim these foods should be banned because there is not enough data to know what impact GM foods have on our bodies long term, food regulation organizations and scientists maintain that it is safe to eat GM foods (Genetically Modified Food, 2021).
Read/listen
Read or listen carefully so you understand the source well enough to summarize it.
Make a list
As you read/listen, pay attention to the main ideas and major details of the source material. In some cases, there may be sections of the original source that are not relevant to the point you want to support in your paragraph. Be careful not to change the meaning or misrepresent the original author's intent when excluding any details from the original source in your paraphrase. For this example, the entire original source will be paraphrased.
You should make a list of the main points. Compare the example paragraph and the example list below.
| Example: Original Source | Example: List |
Proponents of GM foods argue that biotechnology can produce disease- and infestation-immune | -Pro-GM groups assert that the modifications lead to stronger, healthier crops. -GMs can survive harsh environments. -Global hunger can be remedied with nutrient-rich GMs. -The vitamin A enriching modification to Golden Rice is an example of the potential health benefits of a GM. |
Write the summary
Without looking at/listening to the original, use your list to write your summary. Again, it is important to focus on the ideas. Use your own words to write your summary.
| Example: List | Example Summary |
-Pro-GM groups assert that the modifications lead to stronger, healthier crops. -GMs can survive harsh environments. -Global hunger can be remedied with nutrient-rich GMs. -The vitamin A enriching modification to Golden Rice is an example of the potential health benefits of a GM. | Pro-GM groups assert that modifications lead to stronger that can survive harsh environments and global hunger can be remedied with nutrient-rich GMs, as in the case of the vitamin A enriching modification to Golden Rice (Genetically Modified Food, 2021). |
Notice how the items on the list are not just copied and pasted together into one big sentence. The ideas are connected together carefully. The order is changed a little and some of the ideas are condensed. There are different synonyms used and there are new sentence structures.
Compare to the original
After you write your summary, you should compare it to the original. Make sure that the ideas have not been changed, but that the words/syntax are distinct. Make revisions as necessary.
Example: Original Source
Proponents of GM foods argue that biotechnology can produce disease- and infestation-immune crops. They say that these crops will grow in difficult environments. They will also provide much-needed nutritional supplements able to correct widespread global hunger. One such example is Golden Rice. This rice is enriched with beta-carotene for the purpose of eliminating illness and death caused by vitamin A deficiency.
Example: Summary
Pro-GM groups assert that modifications lead to stronger that can survive harsh environments and global hunger can be remedied with nutrient-rich GMs, as in the case of the vitamin A enriching modification to Golden Rice (Genetically Modified Food, 2021).
Exercises
Exercise 1: Summarize
Using the tips in this chapter, practice summarizing the following ideas.
Original Source: Food loss occurs for many reasons, with some types of loss—such as spoilage—occurring at every stage of the production and supply chain. Between the farm gate and retail stages, food loss can arise from problems during drying, milling, transporting, or processing that expose food to damage by insects, rodents, birds, molds, and bacteria. At the retail level, equipment malfunction (such as faulty cold storage), over-ordering, and culling of blemished produce can result in food loss. Consumers also contribute to food loss when they buy or cook more than they need and choose to throw out the extras (See Buzby et al (2014)).
Source: USDA. (n.d.). Food waste FAQs. United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs.
Exercise 2: Summarize
Using the tips in this chapter, practice summarizing the following ideas.
Original Source: During procrastination, individuals anticipate that the task they should do is much more aversive than they actually perceive it when they are engaging in it. Therefore, they may not feel well during procrastination because of guilt feelings or because the alternative activity is not diverting (e.g., cleaning the kitchen) but there still might be a (negative) reinforcement effect by avoiding a task, which they expect to be even more unpleasant than the feeling they experience in the moment of procrastination.
Source: Gort, C., Marcusson-Clavertz, D., & Kuehner, C. (2021). Procrastination, affective state, rumination, and sleep quality: Investigating reciprocal effects with ambulatory assessment. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 39, 58-85.
Source:
"Organic Food." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/PC3010999057/OVIC?u=byuprovo&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=ce61adfb. Accessed 30 Mar. 2022.
This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.
Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/up_writing_summer/summarizing.